Chapter 9.3III. Feudalism and Manor Life

• A complex web of duties and obligations governed relationships between people in the Middle Ages.

7.6.3

1. To defend their lands, nobles needed soldiers. The best soldiers were knights, warriors who fought on horseback. Knights needed weapons, armor, and horses, so nobles gave land to the knights to support them.

2. A knight who promised to support a lord in exchange for land was called a vassal.

3. Feudalism was a system of promises that governed the relationships between lords and vassals.

A. Feudalism governed how knights and nobles dealt which each other.

1. Lords sent help to the vassals if they were attacked.

2. They built castles to defend themselves against attack.

3. The lords could not punish the vassals without good reason.

4. If a lord failed to do what he was supposed to, the vassal could break all ties with him.

B. Lords

1. Served their lords in times of war

2. Gave money to their lords on special occasions such as weddings

3. Gave their lords food and shelter whenever they came to visit.

C. Vassals

1. Feudalism was created by the Franks, but the system spread to other countries.

2. Frankish knights introduced feudalism into northern Italy, Spain, and Germany.

3. Feudalism then spread to eastern Europe and to England.

D. Feudalism spread through much of Europe.

1. A French noble named William was the duke of Normandy when it decided to conquer England.

2. The duke invaded England in 1066 and became known as William the Conqueror.

3. William and his men defeated the English, and William declared himself king of England.

4. He gave his knights land in return for their loyalty.

5. This was the beginning of feudalism in England.

E. William the Conqueror

1. When knights received land from their kings, they did not have time to farm it. At the same time, there were poor people who needed a way to grow food. The manor system was a way to take care of both problems.

F. The manor system dominated Europe’s economy.

1. A large estate owned by a knight or lord was called a manor.

2. The manor included a large house or castle, pastures, fields, and forests.

3. Most medieval lords kept one-half to one-third of the land for themselves.

4. The rest of the land was divided among peasants and serfs, workers who were tied to the land on which they lived.

G. The Manor System

1. Although they were not slaves, they could not leave the land without permission.

2. They spent most of their time working for the lord in exchange for a small piece of land.

3. Farm labor was hard, and everyone worked, even children.

4. The lords wanted people to produce everything they needed to live.

H. Serfs and Peasants

1. The lords controlled everything that happened on their land.

2. They resolved disputes and collected taxes from the people on their land.

3. The lords lived more comfortably than the serfs and peasants, but they still had to worry about disease and warfare.

I. Manor Lords

• During the Middle Ages, most people lived on farms, and towns were small. After about 1000 AD, things began to change, as some towns turned into big cities.

J. Towns and trade grew and helped end the feudal system.

1. More people lived in Europe because more food was available.

2. New technology, such as a heavier plow and the horse collar, meant that farmers could be more productive.

3. Trade increased as the population grew and trade routes began to develop across Europe.

4. People began to leave the farms and move to the towns in order to make more money.

K. Growth of Towns and Trade